Garlic Fries, a little taste of SF

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve been to the City many, many times in my life. Even last year when I lived a several hours east of SF at my old job, J.D. and I still made a few trips out to San Francisco.

We played tourists for the Valentine’s Day weekend, doing all the things I’d never done before because I felt too “local” for them. You know, like going to Alcatraz.

 

 

We went to a wine and chocolate tasting boutique, on another occasion paired wine and cupcakes at American Cupcake (!!!) and ate seafood until we turned into seals or something.

But I’m pretty sure all of that pales in comparison to the Gordon Biersch garlic fries we always get on the pier and at Giants or A’s games! (Did I really just say that?!)

If you’ve never had garlic fries… you’re missing out! They are so wonderfully crispy and garlicy and amazing. Even if it comes at the expense of fresh breath. Learn how they came to the United States and started at Gordon Biersch, here.

Well if you haven’t yet tried them, you now have zero excuses, because I finally made them at home myself! And we didn’t even get all intense with cutting our own potatoes, we used freezer fries and baked them, then made garlic magic.

San Franciscan Garlic Fries

• 1/2 package frozen French fries
• 5 t minced garlic
• 2 t chopped parsley
• 2 T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Bake the French fries (I’m sure this could be amazing with sweet potato fries too), according to package directions and while they are still warm, toss in a bowl with all remaining ingredients. Do not let the fries cool after cooking, otherwise the ingredients won’t stick. We decided to kick it up a notch and add in 1 T garlic salt and pepper for taste.

While these weren’t as breath-killingly garlic as the fries I’m used to, the taste still brought me back to snacking on the piers or hanging out in the bleachers at Bay Area baseball games! It’s a little bite of home, from deep in the desert where temperatures are currently 109 degrees and rising.

So what did we pair those glories fries with?! Home made Italian meatball subs… but that’s a story for another time.

Holy Update

So the problem with intense moving and sight-seeing over the past two weeks sans Internet is that I've got a motherload of photos and stories to update. I'm going to tackle it by city and hope this covers the void from the end of July to the beginning of August.

GOODBYE, STOCKTON

In attempt to empty out our pantry before moving, I tested out my first ever oats in a jar. It was alright, but I think I had too much peanut butter left in the jar. I guess I rushed it, you know, moving out and wanting to toss it and all. It was also WAY too hot to hold on to. I might try it again... in several months, since that's how long it'll take me to finish up a jar!

I ended up going with that chai oatmeal I've had a while, plus some of TJ's super berry mix of dried berries and crunched up some walnuts. Good, but too much PB for my taste.

In addition to cleaning out the cabinets there were several going away meals. I'm not going to say who, but a furry member of my household snuck some of my sushi. How rude!!! He gobbled up an entire pinwheel of caterpillar roll in one bite! We also went out with J.D.'s best friend from high school. He's Greek so naturally we dined at the nicest Greek restaurant in Stockton :)

The meal started out with endless baskets of pita bread. I went nuts on that and tzatziki and wound up with limited stomach space for the actual meal. I selected a crisp Sauvignon blanc to go with my meal.

Followed by a fresh Greek salad with a block of feta on top. Oh yeah and I also got all the boys' kalamata olives, which are kind of my favorite. I looove olives.

Next up came the main course, which ended up being two dinners and a lunch over the next two days. Score! I ordered the Mediterranean chicken with pesto, fresh veggies and pasta.

And then, just like that, after several days of intense packing/cleaning, I quit my job with no promise of future employment and left the condo while J.D. drove down to Arizona to begin his first week at his new job. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a week of unemployment at my parents' house in the Bay Area before he flew back up and we checked out of the condo and packed up a truck to move all our crap 12 hours south.

HOME, SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Since then I've been having mild panic attacks about finding work/insurance. Luckily, I've since been approved for insurance after comparing plans and applying at my parents' house.

During my week of "vacation" at home, I got to do a little sightseeing. Chic Runner posted about the most AMAZING cupcake shop after running the San Francisco Marathon. From seeing her tweets and post, I knew I HAD to visit before leaving the state of California -- the only state I've ever had permanent residence in -- for good! Enter SF's own American Cupcake. Heaven in your mouth. They sell individual cupcakes and also cupcake/wine pairing flights!!!

We made a girls' day of it with my sister's only day off work during the week, to include my mom and her friend! The place had an awesome ambiance on a cute little street with abundant shopping. It was a pain to get to though, taking BART instead of driving. We ended up walking about 2.5 miles or so both ways. It made for a long trek with typical blistery SF summer weather. Worlds away from the 100 degree heat in the Arizona desert. Either way, all WORTH IT for these cupcakes!!!

My sis and I were both curious about the Beer and Chocolate flight, so I decided to order it and split the Tunnel of Love wine flight with her. Mine came with a chocolate mint cupcake, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate coconut. And let me tell you something, these people really know how to pair their drinks!!! With the mint came a Japanese beer that went down smooth, the coconut was accompanied by my fav beer on the planet, hef, and the chocolate PB partnered with something I'd NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS see myself enjoying. Chocolate stout. OM#*@@%#G it was good! I really enjoyed how it complimented the heavy taste of both chocolate and PB but also the creamier notes. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think I could ever drink it as a drink. But it had nice tasting notes. I also let my sister have more than half of that one :)

Finishing up our halves, we swapped and I got to sample the wine flight. Aimee's came with a red hot cupcake, red velvet and simple chocolate. They went with a cab, bubbly and the epitome of summer (in my mind) rosé. I looooove chocolate and wine. All perfect pairings I had the indescribable pleasure of sampling :)

Our mom said "I'd like to try the Walk of Shame" (giggles) and from what I could tell, was pretty yummy! It came with a lemon cupcake I never got to taste because she woofed down all of hers very fast :) butterscotch and coconut cupcakes. They went with various wines and the butterscotch/merlot combo was pretty awesome!

My favorite after all was said and done?

Had to be the wines! :) Like father, like daughter. Which reminds me of a post for another day... my dad makes wine in his garage and has won medals for it!

HELLO, ARIZONA!

Eventually it had to end and I said goodbye to my family, packed up and met J.D. at the Sacramento Airport before driving back to Stockton to load the truck. We made the 12-hour trek out here to Arizona and little Woodstock was such a good boy and slept for most of it! Like his mama, he too suffered a minor injury. Sidenote: I'm seeing a sports therapist for my knee and will be sidelined from running for quite some time :( MAJOR BOO!!!! I have degenerative tissue below the kneecap and some sort of tendinitis below it. So massages, adjustments, stretches and kinesiotape will have to do for now. Woodstock also pushed his limits and jumped out of someone's arms while he was at home with me and thankfully didn't end up breaking anything!! He just suffered from a minor limp and took some pain meds, but no worries, the pooch loves running, digging and rolling around in his new grassy backyard.

Other than that, I've been spending an ungodly amount of time unpacking and getting lost in exploring my new city. We made it out to J.D.'s favorite restaurant of all time, another Guy Fieri feature on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Chino Bandito. Mexican, Chinese and Jamaican fare. But here's the kicker, you order your main meat selection (Chinese or Mexican) in a burrito, rice bowl or quesadilla! Then you get to pick beans and rice (fried, regular or Jamaican jerk). I went with a steak quesadilla seasoned with Chinese flavors, alongside jade chicken, white rice and black refried beans. Again, I sound like a broken record but holy yum!!!!!! It was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed J.D.'s orange chicken quesadilla :)

His

And hers.

Last but not least, the endless job search. I feel like I've been sending out a thousand applications, resumes and cover letters! If all else fails, I've secured several side jobs which should amount to something. I'm dressing the part for success and I do have an interview tomorrow! Something to look forward to :)

I hope someone hires me!!!!

To be continued.....

Also, don't forget you have until MONDAY, AUG. 16 to both enter my Gracie's Gear giveaway and also receive free shipping in my OpenSky shop with the code FREESHIPPING.

Have a good night.... I'm up way too late for a morning interview :)